BACKGROUND Cardiometabolic profile is usually altered in obesity. Interestingly, the consumption of flavanol-rich foods might be protective against those metabolic alterations. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the postprandial cardiometabolic effects after the acute consumption of cocoa extract before and after 4 weeks of its daily intake. Furthermore, the bioavailability of cocoa extract was investigat...

Faba bean has gained increasing attention from the food industry and the consumers mainly due to the quality of its protein fraction. Fermentation has been recently recognized as the most efficient tool for improving its nutritional and organoleptic properties. In this study, faba bean flour fermented with Lactobacillus plantarum DPPMAB24W was used to fortify semolina pasta. Pasta samples inclu...

BACKGROUND The Maya of Central America are credited with the first consumption of cocoa and maintaining its ancient Olmec name kakawa translated in English as "God Food", in recognition of its multiple health benefits. The legend of cocoa is receiving renewed attention in recent years, on account of epidemiological and scientific studies that support its cardiovascular health benefits. Increasi...

Cocoa powder is rich in polyphenols, such as catechins and procyanidins, and has been shown in a variety of subject models to inhibit oxidized LDL and atherogenesis. Our study evaluated plasma LDL cholesterol and oxidized LDL concentrations following the intake of different levels of cocoa powder (13, 19.5, and 26 g/d) in normocholesterolemic and mildly hypercholesterolemic humans. In this comp...

The effects of particle size, fermentation, roasting time and roasting temperature of cocoa nibs on cocoa butter extraction using supercritical fluid technology were studied. The effect of particle size was studied using cocoa liquor (D = 0.074 mm), ground cocoa nib (D = 0.25–0.50 mm and 1.0–1.2 mm) and whole cocoa nibs at 35 MPa, 60 C and flow rate of 2 ml/min using supercritical carbon dioxid...

The Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP) has been designed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) for Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Due to the limited radio channel capacities and hardware resources of such devices, congestion can be a serious problem. CoAP addresses this important issue with a basic congestion control mechanism. CoCoA, an Internet-Draft proposal, introduced alter...

Cocoa is a rich source of flavonoids, mainly (-)-epicatechin, (+)-catechin, and procyanidins. This article reports the effect of continuous cocoa intake on antioxidant capacity in plasma and tissues, including lymphoid organs and liver, from young rats. Weaned Wistar rats received natural cocoa (4% or 10% food intake) for three weeks, corresponding to their infancy. Flavonoid absorption was con...

OBJECTIVE We previously found that ingested cocoa decreased visceral adipose tissue weight in rat. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms of that effect, we carried out experiments aimed at analyzing biochemical parameters and gene expression profiles. METHODS Rats were fed either of two high-fat diets, differing only in supplementation with real or mimetic cocoa. On day 21, body weights, mese...

Levels of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were determined in dried cocoa beans obtained from cocoa produce stores at Ondo and Ile-Ife, Southwestern Nigeria. Cocoa beans samples were sun dried to a constant weight, pulverized and soxhlet extracted with dichloromethane to obtain the OCPs. Qualitative identification and quantitative evaluation of the extracted OCPs after clean-up on silica gel we...